A report by the UK parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) pointed to alleged Russian interference in the Brexit referendum, but “could not say if it had affected the result of the 2016 vote,” adding that the effect was “unquantifiable,” according to The Times.
Sky News, in turn, cited Security Minister Brandon Lewis as saying that the British government is not set to publish the reports until after the 12 December general election in the UK.
“We want to make sure, particularly where national security is involved, we go through that process properly and thoroughly," We can't publish things during the general election ... but after the general election that report will be published”, Lewis said.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, insisted that the decision not to publish the reports ahead of the general election was for “utterly unjustifiable, unprecedented and clearly politically motivated reasons.”
“What is Downing Street so worried about? I fear it is because they realise this report will lead to other questions about the links between Russia and Brexit,” she told UK lawmakers earlier this week.
Separately, she claimed that the report-related disclosure raised “serious questions” about the safeguards pertaining to the general election.
“If it is correct that our security services have been unable to reach a conclusion about the extent or impact of Russian interference in the 2016 referendum, then it raises serious questions which require serious answers,” Thornberry added.
The Times reported that the ISC, chaired by Dominic Grieve, gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson the report several weeks ago, something that was blasted by former US presidential candidate Hilary Clinton who said it was "inexplicable and shameful" that the UK government had not already released its findings.
“Every person who votes in this country deserves to see that report before your election happens,” she told the BBC, adding that she was "dumbfounded" by London’s decision to drag its feet on the publication of the report.
No Trump-Russia Collusion, Mueller Probe Says
In April, then-US Special Counsel Robert Mueller made public the results of his protracted investigation in an alleged collusion between the Trump team and Russia ahead of the 2016 US presidential campaign , which revealed that there was no evidence of such collusion.
Trump had denied all collusion-related allegations and has on multiple occasions referred to the probe as a "hoax" and "witch-hunt". Moscow has repeatedly denied them as well, saying they were made up in a bid to deflect public attention from actual instances of election fraud and corruption.
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